Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2.5 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

I have finished my first semester of community college private lessons after trying to go solo for a year. Today was my 'final exam': a jury in front of 3 falculty members where I played 2 peices from memory. My pieces were Schytte 'The Harp' from Snell Rep book 1 and "Waltz, Op 39, No. 13" by Kabalevsky in Snell Rep Book 2. The pieces were preceeded by A minor and D minor scales in 2 octaves, respectively. I fumbled one measure in the Harp pieces (2nd to last) but recovered nicely. My marks were excellent saying I "was making music", "smooth, lovely line" and "thumbs is easy" I guess in reference to my "sclaes - good". I am glad that is over! Looking forward to my second semester starting in January. I feel like now the teacher has caught me up to where I thought I was in August. Not bad for self-teaching. I hope to have a contribution to the Christmas thread next weekend when I record my performance at our family recital where I will perform these two pieces as well as Prelude in C, Bach and O Holy Night. My husband will play guitar and my two sons playing piano as well. Bonus, oldest and I will play a violin duet. (I also took violin lessons at the college - brand new beginner, there! That recital was a few weeks ago for my performance grade - didn't go as well as piano today Thanks for letting me toot my own horn

Congratulations, nancyzpiano! What kinds of skills has your teacher been working on with you? Do you feel that you're a better player than you were in August? Or does it feel like it's all been review, and now you're ready to start real learning next semester?

Congratulations, nancyzpiano! What kinds of skills has your teacher been working on with you? Do you feel that you're a better player than you were in August? Or does it feel like it's all been review, and now you're ready to start real learning next semester?

It has been a little of both but I have learned more during the second half of the semester. The first half was covering the Alfred all in One adult book which was easy for the first half - could sight read most of it and covering scales I already knew. Then the last month or so really worked hard on new scales up to four octaves (only did 2 before) and learned ALOT about how to play a waltz - details I would have be ignorant of as a self-teacher (at least in my case). Hopefully next semester we break away from Alfred and do more Snell rep (classical, baroque, modern and romantic) which is where I want to go. I'll still learn chords, but I don't want all my music being chord accompaniments, kwim? Thanks for reading and responding.

ETA - she also has me working on handshaping, too. Again , stuff I would have overlooked in self teaching - though a video camera does wonders

Congratulations! I'm sure you've said it in one of your other posts, but I wonder where you live. California is in such a depressing state, private lessons are being all but removed at the community college level, even for music majors. I envy you!

"[The trick to life isn't] just about living forever. The trick is still living with yourself forever."

I live in North Texas and attend Tarrant County Community College (Fort Worth - a bit over 30 minutes away). We have weathered the recession pretty well in this area with stable home values so that equates to tax revenue enough to subsidize my musical endeavors. Next semester the non-music majors will have lessons only for 8 weeks because they are gutting the music building and upgrading the 1970s equipment, etc. We are blessed.

Hi nancyzpiano, I do know what you mean about not wanting to just do chord accompaniments Alfred-style. I find the chord accompanying I covered in Alfred I to be really useful in terms of making basic chord shapes feel really automatic in my hand (plus I had some technique books that gave me a TON more really useful practice in the three basic inversion shapes, in all keys), but I didn't want to keep playing just that style so I didn't continue into Alfred II.